UFC's Ian McCall arrested this week in California on June charge (Updated)

UFC flyweight contender Ian McCall was arrested earlier this week in Irvine, Calif., on a two-month-old charge of driving with a suspended license.

News of the arrest came from StuNewsLaguna.com on Friday. A Laguna Beach Police Department official today confirmed the arrest with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

According to the Superior Court of California County of Orange, McCall will remain incarcerated at the Orange County Central Jail until a Sept. 13 pre-trial hearing.

According to the court’s website, McCall was charged on June 14 with driving with a suspended license. The 28-year-old, who violated his probation with the arrest, entered a not guilty plea on Thursday.

In the buildup to his UFC debut, McCall openly shared his past struggles with drug addiction and depression. One incident left him in the hospital after an overdose. However, he said family and friends eventually got him back on track, and sober, he relaunched his MMA career in late 2010, which had seen a near-two-year break after his WEC 38 loss to Dominick Cruz.

George Vargas, McCall’s criminal lawyer, today sent MMAjunkie.com a statement about the fighter’s arrest this week.

“Ian’s license had been suspended for unpaid traffic and parking tickets,” he stated. “The very next day, on June 15, Ian went to the Harbor Justice Center with his agent, and paid over $2,600 in fines. He, mistakenly, thought that the ticket from the previous day had been handled. A few weeks later, when the court date for that case came, Ian did not show, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

“On Aug. 14, once again, Ian was stopped while driving home from the gym. At that time he was arrested for the two warrants, one for not completing the 20 days of Cal Trans work (hard labor) for [a 2008 arrest on possession of prescription drugs without a prescription and paraphernalia], and the other for not showing up to court on the driving on a suspended license ticket that he had thought that he had handled.”

McCall (11-3-1 MMA, 0-1-1 UFC) recently competed in the UFC’s four-man flyweight championship tournament. In the opening round, the former Tachi Palace Fighting champion fought Demetrious Johnson to a draw in March and then dropped a unanimous decision in their May rematch.

“Uncle Creepy” was slated to fight John Moraga earlier this month at UFC on FOX 4 but ultimately withdrew due to an injury.

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(UPDATED on Aug. 18 at noon ET with a statement from McCall’s criminal attorney.)

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